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安娜是阿根廷的一位芭蕾舞導師。1988年她年第一次聽到宣化上人與萬佛聖城之名。她的功夫老師勸她到萬佛聖城來，因此她發了個傳真來聖城，然後靜候佳音。同時繼續每天聽大悲咒錄音帶。
有一天，無緣無故地她哭了起來。上傳統戲劇課時，一位同學注意到她在哭，問她緣由。她的回答讓兩個人都嚇了一跳。她說：「因為有為一位大師今天往生了。」
她忍不住打電話到聖城來，才得知上人剛入涅槃。不久她收到聖城寄來的上人圓寂的通知。翻開日記，她發現上人辭世的日子，正是她無緣無故哭泣的那一天。她因而下決心要來聖城一趟。
她抵達聖城辦公室時，剛好兩位比丘尼在場。其中一位是在阿根廷長大的，會說西班牙語。那次安娜在聖城住了幾個星期。隔年，她再度造訪，並邀請幾位比丘尼去阿根廷組織佛經翻譯工作。
今夏萬佛城有幾位比丘尼應邀訪問阿根廷，其中包括她第一次來聖城時，在辦公室巧遇的那兩位。訪問團原先只打算去組織佛經的西班牙語翻譯工作，未料安娜已經為她們安排了在當地博物館與大學說法的活動，並受到熱烈的歡迎。
安娜由訪問團人員口中得知上人於1970年間，曾住錫阿根廷數月，誦了許多大悲咒，又預言佛教繼美國之後會先傳至南美洲，然後再回歸中國。安娜感嘆地說﹕「我從未見過師父，可是我意識到他的存在，彷彿一盞明燈。」 |
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Ana Patricia, a choreographer from Argentina, first heard about the Venerable Master and the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas in l988. Her kung-fu teacher advised her to go to the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas. She sent a fax to the City and waited for a reply. Meanwhile she continued her daily practice of listening to a tape of the Great Compassion Mantra.
One day, spontaneously, for no apparent reason, she began to cry. During her classical theater class, a classmate noticed she had been crying and asked her why. Her answer startled both of them. She said, “Because a Great Master died today.”
Eventually, she telephoned the City and was told that the Ven. Master had recently entered Nirvana. Much later, she received by mail an announcement of the Master’s passing. When she checked her journal, she discovered that the day of the Master’s passing was the very day she had cried. She became determined to go to the City.
The day she arrived at the Administration Office in the City, two nuns happened to be there, one of whom had grown up in Argentina and spoke Spanish. That first time, Ana stayed several weeks at the City. The following year she returned for a second visit and invited some nuns to Argentina to start a translation group there.
This summer several nuns traveled to Argentina, including the two nuns she had met in the office upon first arriving at the City. The original purpose of the visit was to organize Spanish translation of the Sutras, but as Ana prepared for their arrival a whole schedule of events unfolded. The nuns were invited to speak in a museum and universities and were received warmly.
During their visit to Argentina, Ana learned that the Master had resided in Argentina for several months in the l970’s and had recited the Great Compassion Mantra ceaselessly during his stay. The Master predicted that Buddhism would go to Latin America and then return to China. Ana comments, “I never got to personally meet the Master, but I sense his presence as a shining guiding light.” |
